Day 67: Montreal to Trois Rivieres along the St. Laurence

Our first bit of business is a photo session with a Globe and Mail freelancer. Action shots "Up the hill, down the hill, together, single file, now a still in the broken sunlight, out to the highway, along the highway, cornfield background, now how about some pointing at today's route map? Smile, I like that, looks good, I like the sunlight coming through the trees there, etc." The pics and article are going to be in The Globe and Mail Sat. July 27, if you’re a buyer, all based on a previous interview Gin did with a reporter last week.

Finally we set off on a back roads route, Hwy. 138,which basically follows the north side of the mighty St.Laurence, so wide that it is called lakes in some spots. We spin past towns most Canadians will never see, L'Assomption, Berthierville, Maskinonge, Louiseville, Yamachiche. At one point we all pull over to watch the windsurfers ripping thought the waves on a windy stretch of the river. We find respite from the humid afternoon in an air conditioned cafe and finally try the poutine (overrated?) K Dawg the contrarian, of course has frites with spaghetti sauce. We really enjoy these back roads, sometimes taking us through open farmland, sometimes through heavily treed residential districts, othertimes by palacial riverfront estate homes. Today we are helped by strong SE winds, which push our hinies and evaporate all the fun running through our skin from the night before.

We arrive at our campground (not much is comped in La Belle Province),which has a pool and other amenities. On our arrival though we are caught in a torrential downpour, so we get relief from the heat in a different way. Keenan shows discipline by continuing his yoga under the awning in the downpour and Quinn gets caught mid jog in it and comes in with a chagrined, "Oh, spork" look on his face. The evening completes a bon journee, with Gin and I battling it out on the crib board, the boys immersed in their electronics and a nice dinner.